Exterior wall accessories



y 1969 H. BIRUM, JR 3,443,350

EXTERIOR WALL ACCESSORIES Filed May 13, 1966 Sheet of 2 m5 4 [MENTOR /3 #5555274. a/m/M, (/12 May 13, 1969 H. L. BIRUM, JR

EXTERIOR WALL ACCESSORIES Filed May 13, 1966 United States Patent 3,443,350 EXTERIOR WALL ACCESSORIES Herbert L. Birum, 31:, Pleasant Valley, Titusville, N .J. 08560 Filed May 13, 1966, Ser. No. 549,834 Int. Cl. E04b 2/00 US. Cl. 52459 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Exterior batten assemblies for securing building facings to building superstructure in which exterior batten strips are securely fastened to interior batten strips for support of building facings by means of elongated projections defining a cavity in which one interior surface of the cavity is substantially flat while the opposing surface is ribbed for firmly receiving and embracing fastening means threadedly engaged within the cavity.

The instant invention relates to exterior building assemblies and more particularly to assemblies of novel design useful in finishing off buildings and like commercial establishments and exhibiting superior strength, greater ease of handling and assembly, as well as flexibility of use.

Modern construction techniques have recently placed great emphasis upon new exterior wall structures which provide a great deal of aesthetic beauty while at the same time providing strong, reliable building facings or walls which are simple in design, flexible in their application and which greatly simplify assembly thereof.

The building facin-gs may be comprised of large, usually rectangular shaped panels which are secured directly to the building framework or superstructure by batten assemblies which rigidly position and secure the panels to the building structure as well as providin adequate sealing along the joining edges of adjacent panels to prevent rain, moisture or other elements from entering into the building proper. Each batten assembly is comprised of interior and exterior batten strips secured together by suitable fastening means so as to embrace the marginal edges of adjacent panels. The exterior batten of one preferred embodiment is provided with a pair of cooperating spaced parallel projections adapted for receiving the forward end of a threaded member. One interior wall of a first projection is ribbed to guide the insertion of the threaded member; the interior wall of the remaining projection is provided with a V-shaped groove near the top of the projection for the purpose of guiding the threaded member into the space between the projections. The projections are formed of a material having characteristics which permit the threaded member to cut grooves into the flat interior surface of the remaining projections so as to be firmly threadedly engaged therein. Such batten strips are typically formed of extruded aluminum which yield the above desirable characteristics. The distance between the fiat interior wall and the crests of the ribs on the opposite interior wall of the projection is selected so as to be slightly less than the distance between the roots of the screw thread on diametrically opposed sides of the screw. It has been found that by making this distance between zero to 15,000 of an inch less than the distance between two diametrically opposed roots of the screw member, the pulling power of the screw, when threaded therein, more than triples thereby providing a batten assembly having extremely large holding strength.

The external batten members are further provided with flanges along their opposing edges which are arranged a spaced distance from the external surface of the panels which they embrace. Arranging the flanges in this manner provides adequate clearance for receiving the ends of 3,443,350 Patented May 13, 1969 intersecting battens between the flanges and the external surface of the panels and further facilitates the introduction of caulking which is a far superior sealant to those methods which have previously been employed.

The external surface of the exterior batten members are further provided with a pair of undercut grooves for receiving feature strips which may be of any suitable color or styling to further enhance the aesthetic appearance of the batten members.

Such exterior batten assemblies are typically secured to the building superstructure by means of clips which are bolted or otherwise suitably fastened to the beam or beams forming the buildings superstructure. The mounting of exterior wall assemblies within a single building quite frequently requires a variety of fastening clips due to the variety of forms of superstructure. Such requirements complicate both handling and assembly. The instant invention however, provides a universal clip which is quite flexible in use and is thereby capable of being employed in all possible mounting applications thereby greatly simplifying both handling and assembling operations. The universal clip is an L-shaped member formed of a flat sheet of seal, preferably of inch thickness. One arm of the member is provided with a pair of elongated openings arranged at spaced intervals to one another and each being aligned transverse to the alignment of the first opening provided in the first arm. Provision of elongated openings provides a sufficient tolerance for aligning the clip with the batten assemblies as well as providing for normal expansion and contraction of the batten assemblies. These arrangements provide for normal expansion and contraction in two mutually perpendicular directions while at the same time providing suitable support for the batten assemblies and the panel members which they in turn support. The thickness of the universal clip is suflicient to permit bending of an arm in order to provide securement to an L-beam having a vertically aligned mounting surface. As an alternative embodiment, the universal clip may be replaced by an interior batten strip having an elongated projection extending from its interior surface, which strip is capable of being secured to the building structure mounting surface by means of fastening either to the horizontal surface of a U-shaped beam or the vertical surface of an L-beam.

In cases where horizontal batten assemblies are employed for the purpose of positioning and supporting exterior panel members, still another simplified embodiment is provided, which embodiment comprises a substantially H-shaped batten strip having a pair of downwardly depending arms for embracing the upper marginal edge of a panel member and having a pair of upwardly aligned arms for receiving the lower horizontal marginal edge of another panel member. The upwardly aligned arms are each provided with a pair of flanges upon which the lower horizontal edge of the upper panel rests. The upper arm which is positioned toward the building interior is provided with a weakening groove aligned just slightly below its panel supporting flange which weakens the arm at that point causing the arm having the weakening groove to bend inwardly under the weight of the panel member to provide an excellent force-fit of the panel member between the upwardly aligned arms. The H-shaped unitary batten assembly may further be provided with an inwardly directed flange directed toward the building interior for the purpose of securing the H-shaped batten assembly to the building superstructure.

All of the above batten assemblies provide features which greatly simplify handling and assembly while at the same time providing the requisite amount of support and rigidity required of such exterior panel assemblies.

It is, therefore, one object of the instant invention to provide novel batten assemblies for use in finishing building exteriors wherein handling assembly operations are greatly simplified.

Another object of the instant invention is to provide a novel two-piece batten assembly having an elongated opening for receiving a threaded member which is so designed as to have a width no greater than the diameter of the threaded member between diametrically opposed roots of the threaded member so as to significantly improve the pulling force of the threaded engagement.

Another object of the instant invention is to provide a novel batten assembly comprising an exterior batten strip having flanges spaced from the surface of the panel members which it embraces to provide sufiicient space for intersecting batten strips as well as for the receipt of a sealant to provide an excellent seal against the intrusion of water or other external influences from entering into the building interior.

Another object of the instant invention is to provide a novel exterior batten assembly wherein the exterior batten strip is provided with a pair of undercut grooves on its exterior surface for the receipt of feature strips of a variety of colors or designs to further enhance the aesthetic appearance of the batten members.

Another object of the instant invention is to provide novel batten assemblies for use in finishing building exteriors comprising a novel universal clip to permit rigid securement of the batten assemblies to the building superstructure in a variety of differing positions.

Another object of the instant invention is to provide a novel unitary batten assembly for use in finishing building exteriors and having at least one pair of embracing arms for receiving the marginal edge of a panel member and means for weakening the supporting strength of at least one of said arms in order to provide an excellent force-fit between the panel member and pair of arms by which it is embraced.

These and other objects of the instant invention will become apparent when reading the accompanying description and drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an end view of a batten assembly designed in accordance with the principles of the instant invention;

FIGURE 1a is an elevational view showing the exterior batten assembly and threaded member of FIGURE 1 in greater detail;

FIGURE 2 shows a manner in which a batten assembly is the type shown in FIGURE 1, but embraces a pair of panel members;

FIGURE 3 shows an alternative embodiment for the batten assembly in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 shows another alternative embodiment for the batten assemblies of FIGURES 2 and 3;

FIGURE 5a is a perspective view of a universal clip for securing the batten assemblies of the instant invention;

FIGURE 51; is a perspective view showing another application for the universal clip of FIGURE 5a;

FIGURE 5'0 shows still another application for the universal clip of FIGURE 5a;

FIGURE 5d is a perspective view showing a batten assembly wherein the universal clip is formed as an integral part of the interior batten strip;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view showing a one-piece batten assembly; and

FIGURE 6a shows an alternative manner for securing the batten assembly in FIGURE 6 to the building superstructure.

FIGURE 1 shows a batten assembly 10 which is comprised of an exterior batten strip 11 and an interior batten strip 12. The exterior batten strip, so named because it faces the exterior surface of a building or other structure, is comprised of a central portion 13 having a pair of upwardly directed projections 14 and 15 for receiving a threaded member therebetween. The interior surface of projection 15 is provided with a plurality of ribs 16 which are substantially spaced from one another by an amount 4 of substantially equivalent to the pitch of the threaded member 17. The interior surface of projection 15 is further provided with a tapered portion 18 near its free end to facilitate insertion of threaded member 17.

The interior surface of projection 14 is substantially flat, however, a single substantially V-shaped groove 19 is provided near its top edge. This groove acts as a starting groove for the threading of threaded member 17 therebetween. The distinct advantage of such a groove receiving structure is that the projections 14 and 15 run substantially the entire length of the exterior batten strip 11 which may be as long as 20, 30, or 40 feet. Using this arrangement, there is no problem whatsoever of aligning the hole (or holes) provided in the interior batten strip 12 which receives threaded member 17 so as to insure its proper alignment with the screw receiving projections 14 and 15. Thus, no care whatsoever need be exercised in the location of the opening in interior batten strip 12.

The batten strips are secured to one another in the following manner:

An opening 20 is drilled in the central portion 21 of interior batten strip 12 which is of a diameter sufficient to permit the threaded member 17 to pass therethrough while providing a suitable support for the head 17a of the threaded member. The panel members 22 and 23 to be embraced by the batten strips 12 and 13 are positioned substantially in the manner shown in FIGURE 1, and the forward end 17b of threaded member 17 is positioned between the tapered surface 18 and the starting groove" 19 of projections 14 and 15. Threaded member 17 is then rotated by any suitable tool such as a screwdriver, wrench, and the like. The rotation of the thread in this manner causes it to enter between the opposing surfaces of projections 14 and 15. The ribs 16 and the starting groove 19 cause the threaded member to be driven vertically downward and to cut grooves or ribs into the flat interior surface of projection 14. The rotating operation may be performed until the marginal edges of panels 22 and 23 are firmly embraced by the batten strips 12 and 13.

FIGURE 1a shows an enlarged view of the projections 14 and 15 and the manner in which they are formed so as to significantly improve the pulling strength of the batten assemblies. The distance D between the crests of ribs 16 and the interior surface 14a is selected so as to be equal to or less than the distance D between diametrically opposed roots of the threaded member 17 As one exemplary embodiment, the distance D was thousandths of an inch relative to the distance D which was thousandths of an inch. Since the batten strips are preferably extruded from aluminum, the characteristics of the extruded aluminum caused the aluminum to yield slightly with the threading of the screw member so as to permit threading engagement between the batten strip and the threaded member. It was found that with this arrangement the pulling strength of the batten assembly was better than three to four times greater than the pulling strength of ordinary batten assemblies, wherein the distance D is conventionally greater than the distance D It was found that this improvement in pulling strength is significantly improved when the distance D is either equal to the distance D or less than the distance D by as much as 15 thousandths of an inch.

Since the distance D is always either equal to or less than D the tapered surface 18 is provided to permit starting of the threaded member 17 into threaded engagement with the interior surfaces of projections 14 and 15. The tapered surface 18 permits the forward end of threaded member 17 to enter to a suflicient depth so that one crest 17 of the threaded member will embrance the starting groove 19 along surface 14a to readily permit the threading operation. The result of these dimensional relationships were found to be so good that no slippage of the thread occurred during the performance of a strength test until maximum load was reached, at which time failure was due only to the shearing of the aluminum.

FIGURE 2 shows a batten assembly substantially identical to that shown in FIGURE 1 in a position embracing a pair of exterior panels 22 and 23. The interior surface of batten strip 13 is provided with a pair of double undercut grooves 24 and 25 (see FIGURE 1) to re ceive mating projections provided along a pair of sealing gaskets 26- and 27, so as to provide a good seal between batten strip 13 and the surface of panel members 22 and 23. The interior batten strip 12 is likewise provided with a pair of double undercut grooves 28 and 29 which may receive elongated sealing strips of the same general configuration as the strips 26 and 27. This is not absolutely necessary since the batten strips 12 are positioned within the building interior.

As will further be noted, the batten strip 13 is provided with a pair of outwardly directed flanges 30 and 31 which are positioned a spaced distance away from the exterior surfaces of panel members 22 and 23. This arrangement provides suitable clearance for the receipt of intersecting batten strips so as to permit the edges of an intersecting strip, such as for example, the strip 32 so as to provide a neater finish on the building exterior by concealing the edge of the intersecting batten strip, which may be roughly finished due to a cutting operation. A still further advantage of the flanges 30' and 31 is that they provide a confined space for the receipt of a sealant 33 such as for example, a caulking compound to provide an excellent air and water-tight seal between the exterior batten strip and the exterior surfaces of the panels. The sealing gaskets 26 and 27 normally provide adequate seals under average conditions, but do not have the ability to alter their shape considerably so as to follow all imperfections, crevices, etc., to provide the excellent sealing characteristics which can be achieved through the use of a caulking compound. The flanges 30 and 31, in addition to providing a rather confined space for receiving the sealant, act to substantially conceal the sealant from view so that its presence does not mar the esthetic appearance of the batten assembly.

A further esthetic feature provided by the batten strip 13 is the provision of a pair of undercut grooves 34 and 35 (see FIGURE 1) for the receipt of a feature strip 36 which may be an elongated strip of plastic, metal or any other suitable material, which may be of any color or finish desired so as to further enhance the esthetic appearance of the assembly. These feature strips may be selected to blend with the decor of the panels 22 and 23, and may also be removed and replaced by feature strips of other colors or finishes if it is also desired to refinish the panels 22 and 23, or replace them 'with panel members of other finishes or colors.

FIGURE 3 shows another embodiment 10 of a batten assembly of the type shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, wherein the exterior surface of the exterior batten strip 13 is provided with a pair of outwardly directed projections 37 and 38 to provide a shadow effect to further enhance the esthetic appearance of the batten assembly.

FIGURE 4 shows another alternative embodiment 10" in which the exterior batten strip 13' commonly referred to as a mullion is substituted for the batten strips .13 of FIGURES 2 or 3. This arrangement shows still another esthetic feature which may be provided by means of the mullion structure which projects a significant degree outwardly from the building surface so as to provide more pronounced shadow effects for the structure. Any of the structures of FIGURES 1 through 4, however, incorporate the features of the superior pulling strength of the screw receiving projections as well as providing the flanges for receipt of caulking compounds and intersecting batten assemblies without any reduction in esthetic appearance of the completed assemblies. The spacing between any of the flanges 30 and 31 from the exterior surface of the panel members is suflicient so that when an intersecting batten such as batten 39, shown in FIGURE 4, is positioned behind flange 31 there is still better than A of an inch clearance for the receipt of a caulking compound to prevent an adequate seal, even in the presence of the intersecting batten.

FIGURE 5a shows a universal clip 50 having a flexibility permitting its use in a variety of mounting applications for the purpose of securing the batten assemblies to the building superstructure. The universal clip 50 is an elongated substantially L-shaped member having a first arm 51 provided with an elongated opening 52, and having a second arm 53 provided with a pair of elongated openings 54 and 55, which are oifset from one another.

As shown in FIGURE 5b, the universal clip 50 is secured to a horizontally aligned U-beam 56 by means of a bolt 57 and cooperating fastening nut 58, received by a suitable opening in beam 56 (not shown) and by the opening 52 provided in arm 51. The vertically aligned arm 53 receives the fastening member 17 through either one of the openings 54 or 55. This fastening member 17 not only secures the batten strips 12 and 13 to one another, but.

secures the entire assembly'to the universal clip 50,, and hence, to the U-beam 56. For alignment purposes, the elongated openings 54 and 55 are offset relative to one another so that if either opening is too low or too high relative to the positioning of the batten assembly 10', the other openings may be selected for mounting purposes. After selection of one opening and securely fastening the threaded member 17, the elongated openings 54 and 55 permit the interchange of normal expansion and contraction as between the beams 56 and the batten assemblies 10, so as to permit a certain amount of yielding under such pressures. In a like manner, the batten assembly 14} and the U-beam 56 may undergo expansion and contraction along its lengthwise dimensions which expansion and contractional interplay may be taken into account by virtue of elongated opening 52 and arm 51. Thus, in addition to providing a wide amount of tolerance for mounting, these elongated openings 52, 54 and 55, also allow for normal expansion and contractional changes in the structural components employed.

FIGURE 5a shows an assembly in which the interior batten strip 12 is completely omitted, and wherein the uni versal clip 50 provides both the function of securing the batten assembly to the U-beam 56, as well as performing the function of the interior batten strip 12. It should be understood that a suitable number of universal clips 50 should be positioned at spaced intervals along the length of the batten assembly to provide adequate support for the panel members.

FIGURE 50 shows another mounting application for universal clip 50. The clip 50, which is preferably formed from a steel sheet of /3 inch thickness, may be bent so that its arm 51 curves about the upwardly directed arm 60 of a structural L-beam 61. After suitable bending of the clip 50, the clip may then be fastened to arm 60 of L-beam 61 by means of bolt 62 and a cooperating fastening nut 63. The arm 53 of clip 50 may then be secured to the batten assembly 10 as shown in FIGURE 5b, or may be substituted for the internal batten strip 12 in the manner shown in FIGURE 50.

FIGURE 50 shows an alternative mounting structure wherein the internal 12' is substantially similar to the batten strips 12 of FIGURES 1 through 4, with the exception of being provided with an inwardly directed projection 64 provided with elongated openings 65 arranged at spaced intervals along the projection 64 for the purpose of mounting the interior batten to a beam of the type shown in FIGURES 5a and 5b. When required, the projection 64 may be bent downwardly in the manner in which arm 51 of clip 50 is bent, as shown in FIGURE 50, for the purpose of securing the interior batten strip 12' to an L-shaped beam 61. The elongated configuration of the openings allow for normal expansion and contraction of the batten member which may be dissimilar to the amount of expansion and contraction experienced by the supporting beams.

FIGURE 6 shows a unitary batten assembly 70 which may be employed in applications requiring horizontal batten strips. The unitary batten assembly 70 has a substantially H-shaped cross-sectional configuration, and is comprised of a central portion 71 having a pair of downwardly depending arms 72 and 73, and a pair of upwardly aligned arms 74 and 75. The downwardly depending arms 72 and 73 receive the upper marginal edge of a panel member 76, which is aligned below batten assembly 70 and may be supported at its lower end by a batten assembly similar in configuration to assembly 70. The upper arms 74 and 75 are provided with a pair' of inwardly directed flanges 77 and 78, arranged along their interior surfaces for the purpose of supporting the lower edge of a panel member 79. A weakening groove 80 is provided along the interior surface of arm 74 just slightly below flange 77. In operation, the panel 79 is positioned between arms 74 and 75 so that its lower edge rests upon flanges 77 and 78. The weight of the panel member 79 upon the flange 77 weakens the supporting strength of arm 74 due to the presence of the weakening groove 80 and causes it to be pulled inwardly in the direction shown by arrow 81 to create an excellent force-fit between the vertex 82 of arm 74 and the inwardly directed flange 75a provided at the free end of arm 75. The vertex 82 lies between the outwardly flared portion 74a of arm 74 and the flat vertical surface 74b of arm 74, The outwardly flared portion 74a of arm 74 facilitates the insertion of the panel member between arms 74 and 75. The front face of member 70 is provided with an elongated groove 7411 which, in turn, is provided with a plurality of weep holes 74c, arranged at spaced intervals within groove 75]) to permit egress of any water or moisture which may accumulate along the upper surface of central portion 71.

The one-piece batten assembly 70 is further provided with an inwardly directed projection 83 which has a plurality of elongated openings 84 (only one of which is shown) of the same type as shown in FIGURES a-5c for receiving fastening means 85 to secure the batten assembly to a structural U-beam 86.

In the case where it is desired to secure batten assembly 70 to a structural L-beam 87, shown in FIG- URE 6a, the projection 83 is notched or otherwise cut at two-foot intervals, wherein each notch is preferably three inches wide, to form a plurality of individual flanges or flaps, which are then bent down against the upwardly directed arm 88 and secured thereto by suitable fastening members 89. The horizontal batten assembly 70 greatly simplifies handling and installation in that it is a one-piece member and provides excellent supporting strength for the panel members.

The lower exterior arm 73 of the assembly 70 is provided with an inwardly tapered portion 73a and an inwardly directed projection 74 which cooperates with the inwardly directed projection 72a of arm 72 to provide a force-fit for the upper marginal edge of panel member 76. The tapered portion 73a of arm 73 provides sufficient clearance for a vertically aligned intersecting batten strip 90, the upper end of which is arranged to be concealed behind the tapered edge 73a. The tapered edge 73a acts as a water shed to prevent the entry of water or moisture between vertical batten 90 and panel member 76. The upper exterior edge of the vertically aligned batten strip 90 is preferably tapered, as shown at 91, so as to facilitate its insertion between the panel member 76 and arm 73. When properly inserted, the intersecting vertical batten strip 90 enhances the forcefitting of the panel member 76 between the embracing arms of the one-piece batten assembly 70.

It can be seen from the foregoing that the instant invention provides novel batten assemblies for use in finishing building exteriors which are simple to handle, greatly facilitate assembly thereof, and are sutficiently flexible to accommodate a variety of mounting applications, thereby greatly reducing material and assembly costs.

Although there has been described a preferred embodiment of this novel invention, many variations and modifications will now be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, this invention is to be limited, not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appending claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive privilege or property is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A batten assembly for supporting panel members and the like comprising:

a first elongated batten strip having a substantially flat central portion;

first and second projections extending in a first direction integrally formed on one surface of said batten strip;

a threaded member having a helical shaped thread and a head at one end thereof;

said projections forming a space for receiving said threaded member, defined by spaced substantially parallel first and second walls of said first and second projections respectively;

said first wall having a plurality of spaced parallel ribs; the distance between the crests of said ribs being substantially equal to the pitch of said threaded member;

the distance between the crests of said ribs and the opposite wall being less than the diameter of said threaded member measured between diametrically opposed roots of said threaded member.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said second wall is provided with a starting groove positioned adjacent the free end of said second projection.

3. The assembly of claim 2 whrein said first wall is tapered at the free end of said first projection to widen the space for receiving the threaded member to facilitate entry thereof.

4. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said batten strip is formed from extruded aluminum.

5. The assembly of claim 1 further comprising a second batten strip being a substantially flat member having a plurality of openings placed at spaced intervals for receiving said threaded member.

6. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said distance lies within the limits of being equal to said diameter and being 15 thousandths inches less than said diameter.

7. A batten assembly for supporting panel members and the like comprising:

first and second elongated batten strips each having a substantially flat central portion for embracing the marginal edges of panel members therebetween; said first batten strip being of the type described in claim 1;

fastening means for rigidly securing said batten strips to one another;

said first battern strip having first and second flanges along the opposite elongated sides of said batten strip said flanges being a spaced distance away from the exterior surface of adjacent panels;

caulking means being inserted between said flanges the exterior surface of the panels to seal the region therebetween; said flanges substantially concealing all of said caulking means to enhance the aesthetic appearance of the assembly.

8. The assembly of claim 7 wherein said first batten strip exterior surface is provided with a second pair of spaced parallel projections extending outwardly from the exterior surface; a first and second grooves each being adjacent one of said flanges;

a flat elongated feature strip positioned within said grooves for enhancing the aesthetic appearance of said batten assembly.

9 9. A universal clip for securing exterior batten assemblies, of the type described in claim 1, to the superstruction of a building, said clip being:

a substantially L-shaped clip formed from a flat sheet of metal; first and second elongated openings being provided in one of said arms, the longitudinal axes of said openings being transverse to the length of the clip; said openings being offset relative to one another so that at least a portion of one of the openings overlies the space between the projections of said first elongated batten strip; a third elongated opening provided in said second arm;

the longitudinal axis of said third opening being sub- 10. The clip of claim 9 wherein said sheet is /3 inch steel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,808,136 10/1957 Hammitt 52-241 3,334,462 8/1967 Brooks 52-495 3,052,330 9/1962 Hamrnitt v v 52495 FOREIGN PATENTS 8/ 1963 Great Britain.

REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

stantially in alignment with the length of the clip. 15 52-495 

